Online dating company Match Group has paid an undisclosed sum for a 51% stake in portfolio company Hinge, a US-based dating app developer also backed by talent agency CAA.
Founded in 2012, Hinge operates an app that is intended to help users looking for meaningful relationships. It is available in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and India.
Match had provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Hinge in a previously undisclosed deal in September 2017, following $20.6m raised by the company across multiple rounds, and has increased its stake to 51% through several primary investments.
CAA unit CAA Ventures joined Founders Fund, Lowercase Capital, Lumia Capital, Middleland Capital and Great Oaks Venture Capital to invest $4.5m in Hinge in 2014, before backing a $12m series A with Lowercase, Great Oaks, Shasta Ventures and Eniac Ventures the same year.
Hinge’s earlier investors include Graph Ventures, Militello Ventures and Fortify Ventures. It has not revealed whether any of its investors exited in the latest deal, which gives Match the rights to fully acquire the company in the next year.
Mandy Ginsberg, chief executive of Match Group, said: “Hinge’s passion for the user experience and their innovative approach to dating has created a product that is highly relevant particularly among urban, educated millennial women looking for relationships.
“We are excited to welcome Hinge to Match Group and leverage our extensive experience to enable them to become a major player in the relationship space.”